By Anne Marie Gattari
Michigan State University College of Law faculty continue to earn national recognition for the influence of their scholarship, with the College and several individual professors appearing in the latest HeinOnline Scholarly Impact Rankings.
HeinOnline’s rankings are among the most respected measures of scholarly influence in legal academia. Rather than assessing reputation through surveys, the rankings are based on how often legal scholarship is cited by other scholars across HeinOnline’s extensive database of law journals and legal publications.
Citation impact is widely regarded as one of the strongest indicators of a faculty’s contribution to legal scholarship.
“Our faculty have an excellent academic reputation,” said Dean Michael Sant’Ambrogio. “I’m proud to see how well we’ve fared collectively and individually in these important rankings.”
Collectively, MSU Law ranked No. 81 among the nation’s top 100 ABA-affiliated law schools by author affiliation, reflecting the sustained impact of the College’s faculty across a broad range of legal disciplines.
The College also earned national recognition in several subject areas:
- No. 45 in Administrative Law
- No. 53 in Immigration Law
- No. 66 in Education Law
- No. 68 in Contracts
- No. 71 in Legal History
- No. 72 in Government Law
- No. 80 in Constitutional Law
Appearing in multiple subject-area rankings demonstrates the breadth of MSU Law’s scholarly impact, reflecting nationally recognized scholarship across public law, constitutional and administrative law, immigration, education, legal history, and private law rather than strength in a single field.
Three MSU Law faculty members were also recognized among the nation’s 100 most-cited legal scholars in their fields:
- Kristine Bowman — No. 100 in Education Law
- Glen Staszewski — No. 88 in Administrative Law
- David Thronson — No. 72 in Immigration Law
While HeinOnline’s rankings are released periodically and methodologies evolve over time, MSU Law has consistently been represented in these citation-based assessments, reflecting the enduring influence of its faculty’s research and scholarship.
“These rankings show that other scholars are engaging with and building upon our faculty’s research,” said Jane Meland, Assistant Dean & Library Director, MSU Law. “All of this means our faculty are helping shape conversations across a wide range of legal topics.”